Completely Burnt Out

[ricepudding16]

Resolved

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[stickgirl390]

I agree with above. If you don’t financially depend on the research position, see if you can just quit and go home until med school starts. I had a “contract” like that once, but for me breaking the contract simply didn’t entitle me to any severance/compensation etc (obviously) and I couldn’t be hired by the company again in X years, which for me didn’t matter because I was leaving for med school.

 

[Moko]

But I committed to this research position for a year, and given that the MSTP starts even earlier, I basically have to work up until right before matriculating. I always thought that I would feel relief once I got accepted, but I have honestly never felt so stressed. It's really stressing me out to think about starting med school in 6 months. I don't know what to do. I really like the research I am doing, but sometimes its a lot, and I feel like I just need some time before starting this 8 year program. What should I do? Talk to my PI? Ask to finish a month or so early? Find a therapist? I don't even think therapy is the answer, I just miss my family and I need some time before starting. Any thoughts/insight would be appreciated. Thanks

I strongly encourage accepted applicants to take some time off before starting medical school. Your circumstances have clearly changed over the past year with your being homesick and progressively burned out. Figure out how much time you want off before starting medical school and then give your PI appropriate notice. Be upfront with your time table, tie up as many loose ends as possible, and offer to help train your replacement, and then enjoy your hard-earned time off. It is not unreasonable to take multiple months off to recuperate. Your mental health is important and it is up to you to prioritize this as no one else will do it for you. You also aren't any use to others when burned out. Just my thoughts and best of luck.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Agree with the above. Medical school is a grind. And my classmates in the md/PhD program almost have it worse because when we finished preclerkship and I got to go take care of patients, they had to go into the lab for the next 3 years and THEN go into the grind of third year.

You really need to get yourself into a healthy mental space before med school starts because once it does you won’t have many opportunities to recoup. This is also the time to get yourself into good mental health habits to maintain that good mental space as you go through the meat grinder. If you can do that now, you have a much better chance at being able to push through and keep yourself going and healthy when things get tough.

 

[eteshoe]

Your PhD will be a tough go since at most places you cannot predict that you'll be done in 4 years (expect 5-6 realistically). You would be best served taking some time off if you can - you will not get a break easily once you start. I will say that my PhD was waaaaaay more fun than pre-clinical years of med school due to the flexibility.

Still I would take the others advice and just cut your position short - you've shown you're capable of doing this combined path (i.e. multiple acceptances). Take the time to rejuvenate - its a long road.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

This sounds pretty normal. When you build your whole life towards something and then it happens, you’re left to think, “What now?”

Maybe a long road trip or something before medical school could help? Could plan to keep your mind occupied and have something to look forward to before starting.